One thing that I noticed during my book tour was how many people would like to be writers or authors.

A couple of times, writers approached our table at signings. They wanted to know our secrets for getting an agent or getting a publisher. And, yes, the word "secret" was actually used by one of the people.

My mind boggled a little at the thought of boiling all the publishing advice down into the quick sound bite they seemed to be looking for. Avery Aames, who was with me, was very good to p...